


You can't make me

by Suzilee11



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 5-year-old Stiles, Age Regression, M/M, Magic, Sophmore Year, Summer Holidays, Witches, college students, stupid stiles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24784615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzilee11/pseuds/Suzilee11
Summary: The pack was dealing with a witch when Stiles managed to piss her off. After a scuffle and some minor problems, everyone thought that Stiles was fine. The next morning they realize they are wrong when faced with a situation that they are not prepared for.Derek is really not ready to deal with a kid.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59





	1. The Witch

As usual, Stiles couldn’t keep his mouth shut. The pack was dealing with a witch that had been causing havoc all through Beacon Hills. The pack currently had the witch surrounded in the preserve after a long chase, that took at least half an hour, and a smart trap set by Stiles. Derek was in the middle of trying to negotiate with her when her appearance suddenly changed from a beautiful human with long blond hair, bright blue eyes and an almost seductive smile, to an old hag with grey hair that was falling out, leaving bald spots, bright red eyes, and the seductive smile turning into more of a snarl. Derek instantly knew how the witch had been running around town unnoticed. She had been under a cloaking spell, making her appear to look like a normal human. Unfortunately, the spell was wearing off to reveal her true appearance, and that is what caused a fairly peaceful to turn very nasty, very quickly. By this point, everyone in the pack thought that Stiles had finally learnt to keep his mouth shut in any sort of situation that allowed for him talking to get them into trouble. However, they were so very wrong. No one had a chance to stop Stiles uttering a single word before he had opened his mouth and starting speaking. 

“Woah, so witches really are as ugly as you look in movies!” Stiles blurted out. 

The second he said it, the pack knew that they were in trouble. At the same time 4 angry voices all projected to Stiles. 

“Stiles! What did you just say?” Scott chocked out. 

“What the hell Stiles!?” Erica shrieked

“Learn to shut you mouth Stilinski!” Jackson screamed. 

“What did I tell you?” Derek practically roared.

Not having heard a single word properly in the large jumble of words that were just shot at him, Stiles just looked around confused before innocently asking,” What?” a split second before the witch began to glare at him with eyes that were now pure black, then roared at him in a terrifyingly loud voice. 

“HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME, YOU WEAK LITTLE HUMAN. YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR RUDE, CRUEL WORDS.” 

As she raised her hands, everybody knew what was about to happen. 

“Stiles move!” Lydia yelled at him, just before her Banshee scream suddenly exploded into the night. The moment that scream left her mouth every member of the pack knew what that meant for Stiles. The Witch was planning a fatal blow, and Stiles needed to move fast to avoid it. At the exact same moment everyone leapt into action, moving into a formation they had played out so many times at training at in the middle of a fight. Stiles tried to run for cover, moving towards the closet tree to block the blow from hitting him, Scott and Isaac moved towards Stiles to make sure that he was out of the way fast enough. Alison aimed an arrow at the Witches heart and prepared to make her lethal shot count, Lydia’s Banshee scream continued to penetrate the dark night, whilst the rest of the pack lunged straight at the witch, aiming for her throat, fangs bared to rip it out. As Stiles was running for the tree, he appeared to trip though there was nothing for him to trip on, Scott and Isaac didn’t see him fall as they had stopped and turned towards the fight to make sure the pack was okay and didn’t need their help, Alison fired her bow at the witches heart, not realizing how close the wolfs were to her and accidently ended up shooting Boyd in the arm with the arrow instead. As Derek lunged at the witch, he closed his fangs around her throat and the piercing scream of Lydia stopped instantly. 

The witch was dead, and Beacon Hills no longer had to worry about her. The pack all made sure they were alright, luckily it seamed like there was only one small injury, the arrow in Boyd’s arm. Alison offered to pull it out as she felt terrible for accidently shooting one of her friends. 

“I swear I have never missed a target, I don’t how it hit you. I am so sorry, so so sorry” 

“Alison! Stop apologizing, I moved in front of the arrow to get to that witch, it was not your fault.” Boyd said, and he ripped the arrow out of his arm without even flinching. 

“Uhh guys, where is Stiles?” Isaac asks, realizing that he is not standing with everybody else. 

“Stiles!” Scott calls out, quickly moving towards the tree that Stiles was heading for earlier. “Stiles!!” He screams when he rounds the tree and finds Stiles lying on the ground unconscious. 

The rest of the pack are at Scotts side in an instant as he drops to his knees next to his best friend. ‘Stiles? Can you hear me?” He starts to shake Stiles’ body, getting no response, causing a panic to set in that he can’t seem to control. 

Cora is the next one to drop to the ground next to Stiles, checking his pulse and his breathing. “He isn’t breathing, but he has a low pulse. I need you all to step back.” She said, before proceeding to start CPR on Stiles to try and get him breathing again. It was a skill that she had learnt when she was living in South America. Isaac had to bend down and pull Scott away from Stiles in order to try and calm him down. In his panic he couldn’t hear what the rest of the wolves could hear. Stiles’ heart was still beating, he was still alive. It took a few minutes of everyone holding their breathe, hoping that the CPR would work, when they finally heard a loud gasp of air and Stiles sat bolt upright, looking around him in confusion. 

“Stiles!” Scott breathed out in relief, rushing back to his best friends’ side and pulling him into a tight hug. 

“What exactly happened? Where is the witch?” 

“Dead.” Derek states bluntly. “What were thinking Stiles? Tormenting a witch like that?” 

“I wasn’t tormenting her Derek. I was shocked. I always thought that tv and movies were being overly dramatic when they portrayed witches to look so ugly. I wasn’t expecting her to suddenly change and actually be so ugly.” Stiles  
explained. 

“Well it depends on the type of witch” Derek merely kept his stare on Stiles’ for a minute before breathing out and trying to look and sound less angry. “Are you okay Stiles?” He asked. 

“I think so. I’m pretty sure I tripped just as I got behind this tree, although there was nothing there for me to trip on. Must have been my own feet, I am fairly clumsy.” 

“Let’s get out of here before anyone potentially shows up.” Erica suggests. 

“Who could possibly have heard us? We’re in the preserve which is a while away from town.” Jackson added, being a dick as usual. 

“It may surprise you to hear this dickwad, but some people come into the preserve for romantic dates and to have sex without being caught by there parents.” 

“So? What does that have to do with anything?”

“MY god, you’re so dumb sometimes. That means that at it’s a Friday night, there could be people in here, and in case you hadn’t noticed, your girlfriend has a very loud scream when the Banshee inside her takes hold. So, let’s go.” 

Jackson just grumbled and started to walk towards the re-built Hale house, Scott helped Stiles off the ground and made sure he could walk before they set off after him, the rest of the pack following once they were also sure that Stiles was okay to walk. When they all reached the Hale house Derek suggested the Stiles should stay the night, just in case. The rest of the pack decide that they wanted to say as well. It was a Friday night after all, and they were all friends now. Some closer than others. After an argument, Derek gave in and let them stay. With a loud cheer they all ran inside, against Derek’s refusal. As an alpha he knew though that as a pack they always liked to be together after a fight, even if it was a very quick fight. As soon as they all got inside Scott and Stiles headed for the kitchen to collect drinks and snacks, Alison and Lydia gathered blankets and pillows and the rest of the pack fight over which movie they are going to watch. Derek just stood in the in the hall watching them all with a small smile on his face. He may pretend to hate them all most of the time, however deep down, he really loved each and every one of them. At least that was what he was thinking until he nearly got knocked over as Scott and Stiles run past him with everything they grabbed from the kitchen. 

It didn’t take long until they were all settled into their spots in the living room and ready to watch the movie. Stiles was sitting on the couch next to Derek, in the spot he always sits in. Derek is sure that he only does it to annoy him throughout the entire movie, so he doesn’t get to watch it. However, this time Derek is choosing to pay no attention to the movie, whilst Stiles doesn’t even bother to annoy him. Derek tries to watch Stiles as subtly as he possibly can, as he doesn’t believe that Stiles is actually as okay as he says he is. Something just didn’t seem right. Derek wasn’t going to deny that it was entirely possible that Stiles had fallen and knocked himself out, it was very possible for him to have done that. However, that didn’t explain Stiles’ breathing, or more accurately his lack of breathing. Suddenly Stiles turned to see Derek staring at him. Derek smiled sheepishly and turned to face the movie with no idea as to what was happening or even what he was actually watching. 

“Are you okay Derek?” Stiles asked 

“Yeah I’m fine. More worried about you.”

“Why?” 

“Because of earlier with the Witch.” 

“I’m fine Derek.” 

“Are you sure Stiles?” 

“I’m positive. I’ve got a slightly sore head but that’s all.”

Stiles may have been convinced that he was fine, but Derek was not. He continued to keep an eye on Stiles the rest of the night, more subtly than he had been earlier. By the time the pack decided to go to bed, 3 movies later, Derek had to admit that Stiles really did seem fine. However, that didn’t mean that he was above checking again. His instincts were telling him that something bad was soon to happen, and he had always trusted his instincts. The pack separated at went to their own rooms in the house, couples together and the rest by themselves. Instead of going to his own room though, Stiles followed Derek into his room. It was slightly strange for Derek to have Stiles follow him to his room. He was used to Stiles just bursting in at any random time, but he had never entered it with Stiles following him. As Derek moved around the room preparing his bed, going into his ensuite and brushing his teeth, Stiles just stood next to the door in silence. 

“Stiles? Are you okay?” Derek asked softly, it was impossible to get Stiles to shut up, so Derek was suddenly worried about him. 

“I’m fine. I just wanted to ask you about something you said earlier.” 

“What did you want to ask then?” Derek asked. 

“I just wanted to know what you meant when you said it ‘depends on the type of witch,’ what did you mean?”

“Come sit down.” Derek said, walking over to his bed and sitting down on it, Stiles following and sitting a bit away from Derek. “Stiles, there are three different kinds of witches. Good, bad and witches of nature.” 

“Of nature?” Stiles questioned. 

“Just let me explain them all. The witch we dealt with tonight was a bad witch. A bad Witch is purely evil, they play tricks on people, cause havoc, and sometimes even kill just for the fun of it. Good witches prefer to use their powers to help people, they aren’t angelic or entirely against committing bad magic and will do if they have to. And a witch of nature is purely good. They are witches that keep the peace and balance between good and bad witches. They will never use their magic to hurt anybody or cause any trouble. Some go their whole lives never even using their magic. They only live to help people and protect the world from bad witches.” Derek explained. Stiles just stared at him with his mouth gapping open, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

“Umm, okay. But how does that explain why she was beautiful and then ugly?” 

“She was using a cloaking spell so that she looked beautiful. It would stop anyone suspecting her as she looks human that way, especially to people like us who seek to rid our town of those who want destruction. A bad witch is always noticeable as she is pure evil and therefore has an appearance that reflects that. A good witch is usually somewhat beautiful so long as she isn’t hurting anyone. The seconds she decides to hurt anyone she will lose that beauty and forever bare the appearance of a bad witch. Now a witch of nature is always extremely beautiful, you could even say angelic in appearance, and will remain that way her whole life. She is unable to perform any evil magic at all and therefore her appearance will never change. Does that make sense?” 

“I guess so. How do you know so much about witches?”

“I used to spend a lot of time with my mother in the library we used to have in this house. She taught many things about the world of the supernatural. I wish I still had all the books but only a few of them were salvageable enough for me to keep.” Derek smiled at the fond memories. Him and his mother, laying on the floor together pouring over the books for hours at a time. “But that is also how I know that although you say you are fine, you might not be. You never know what that witch was planning on doing. Any of us really could have some kind of like side effects of her magic. It is possible that she was using magic that we couldn’t see even while we were just talking to her.” 

“Is that really possible?” Stiles asked, suddenly worried that something may have indeed happened to him. 

“Yes, it is. Less likely for most of us, the wolfs and Lydia because we are all supernatural ourselves. It would take some strong magic to hurt us and she didn’t seem to strong. Even after all the magic she had been doing around town if she was a strong witch her true appearance never would have shown. She would been able to keep the cloaking spell up for longer than she did. However, you and Alison are both human, maybe Alison knows a way to keep herself safe from her family, but you have no way of protecting yourself from her magic. So, you are the one I am most worried about.” 

“I’ll be fine Derek. You know me. I’m a tough menace who causes more trouble than I help fix, but I always come out of it all fine. Maybe a little bit of stitching up required, but still fine.” 

The look of Stiles’ face as he said the last bit was too much for Derek and he cracked up laughing which soon had Stiles laughing alongside him. Derek never wanted to admit this to anyone, but he was only laughing because he was relieved that once again Stiles had managed to escape being killed. It wasn’t just because Stiles was a member of his pack either, there was more to it that he hated to even admit to himself, but truthfully the big bad alpha werewolf was actually in love with the scrappy, fearless young man that was always narrowly escaping death or serious injury. Which is why he was so worried about Stiles at the moment. 

Calming down enough to talk Derek looked at Stiles seriously now. “You should probably go get some sleep. Its been a long night.” 

“Yeah, of course. I’ll see you in the morning Derek. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight Stiles.” 

Once Stiles had left the room Derek changed for bed and curled up to get some sleep. He couldn’t sleep though, he spent hours laying there wondering what might possibly happen to Stiles if she had gotten any magic to hit him. But then he thought ‘maybe I’m just over-reacting. He looks fine, spells the same as usual and doesn’t appear to have any marks on him that suggest anything.’ Keeping that in mine he finally drifted off to sleep. In the morning he would wake up fine, no longer worrying as everything would be normal. In moments he was fast asleep. But over in Stiles’ room, something strange was occurring.


	2. 5 year old Stiles

As the sun light started to filter through the window Derek’s eyes fluttered open as he started to wake up. Remembering the events from the previous night, he pushed the thoughts out of his head as got up to go the bathroom and get showered. It was his morning routine before breakfast, most of the pack would just meet in the kitchen in various styles of pj’s. Very rarely did they bother to shower before breakfast. Once finished, Derek slowly walked downstairs and into the kitchen. He could hear that everyone was still asleep. But a slight sound in all their breathing told him that they were all starting to wake up. He knew from experience and the feeling in his own stomach, that after the night they had had and the energy that had been exerted, the pack would all be starving. Working fast to beat them, Derek quickly made a large batch of scrambled eggs and put them on the stove to cook, place a truly astonishing amount of bacon onto a few large trays then placed in the oven to cook, and started to quickly mix together a large batch of pancake batter. As soon as the batter was ready, Derek started to cook roughly 4 at a time, working fast and alternating between mixing the eggs and flipping pancakes. Roughly 20 minutes later the pack started to trail down the stairs alone or in pairs until they were all in the kitchen with Derek, apart from Stiles. The smell of the food was less effective at getting him up as he didn’t have a supernatural sense of smell like the rest of them. Ready to dish up a large amount of the food, Derek put the scrambled eggs into a few large serving platters, along with high stacks of pancakes and small towers of bacon. The pack started to dig in as soon as it hit the table. Deciding to go and check on Stiles, Derek didn’t eat yet, but he did put some more bacon in the oven and put more eggs on to cook first, before going up stairs. 

Pausing outside the door of the room that Stiles shared with Scott when they crashed at the house, Derek noticed something seemed a little bit off in what he was sensing, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. He knocked lightly, as the breathing he could hear told him that Stiles was awake. The ‘yes?’ he heard through the door didn’t sound right to Derek, it was too high pitched and young sounding to match Stiles’ voice. Confused Derek pushed open the door anyway and stepped inside to find a sight he never expected to see. Standing next to the window on top of a pile of books, looking out into the preserve was a young boy who looked to be about 5 years old. From what Derek could see of him from his back, the hair looked to be the same colour as Stiles’ and he was wearing the same clothes that Stiles had worn before bed the previous, however they looked as though they had shrunk to fit him properly. 

“Stiles?” Derek questioned. The young boy turned around and suddenly Derek knew for sure that it was definitely Stiles. There was no mistaking those eyes he knew so well, even if they were in a face that was 15 years younger than the Stiles he knew. 

“Hi Derek. Are you okay?” He asked, an amusing little worried expression on his face. Derek may have even given it a slight chuckle if he wasn’t in such a shocked state. 

“Umm, I think so. Stiles are you alright?”

“I’m okay. Why?” Now he looked confused. So far he sounded like the same Stiles, as though his mental age was still that of a 20-year-old, even if he looked younger. 

“How old are you?” Derek asked as calmly as possible, he didn’t want to freak Stiles out until he knew exactly where his mental capacity was at and if he would be able to handle it. 

“Derek, you know how old I am. Why are you acting so weird?” Stiles asked. 

“Please just answer the question properly Stiles.” Derek said, starting to get slightly exasperated. 

“20” Stiles answered. 

“Have you looked in a mirror this morning? Because you might want to if you haven’t.” Derek suggested, gesturing out the door and towards the bathroom. Curiously, Stiles exited the bedroom and walked towards the bathroom, Derek following closely behind him. 

When Stiles saw his reflection in the mirror he gasped. “What the hell?” 

“It looks like the witch managed to hit you with some of her magic last night. Which explains why you weren’t breathing instead of just knocked out after hitting your head.” Derek explained. He was slightly hoping that Stiles would have some sort of knowledge about how to remove the spell since he was training under Deaton to become an emissary. However, before he got the chance to ask he found out that their problems had only just begun, there was no way Stiles was going to be able to help them now. 

“Witch’s aren’t real.” Stiles giggled, before he looked at Derek properly and his expression became suspicious. “Who are you?” 

“Very funny Stiles.” Derek tried to joke. “Do know anyway we can fix this? Did Deaton teach you anything about this?” 

“Fix what?” Stiles asked innocently. “Who is Deaton?” 

A sudden and not very pleasant thought entered Derek’s head, so he asked Stiles the same question he had asked him only a few minutes ago. “Stiles, how old do you think you are?” 

“I like to think I’m a big person, but I know I am 5.” Stiles answered, making sure his point was made by putting up his hand with all five fingers raised. 

“Shit.” Derek muttered under his breath. 

Stiles gasped again. “That’s a bad word.”

Sighing Derek made a mental note to visit Deaton today to discuss what has happened. In the meantime, the pack would have to all look after Stiles and be careful with the supernatural powers around him. He knew there would be hell to pay from the Sheriff, and probably even Stiles himself when he was back to normal, if someone hurt him. “Stiles, are you hungry?” Derek tried to ask as nicely as possible. He wasn’t used to dealing with young children. 

“Yes.” 

“Okay, lets go downstairs and we can get some breakfast.” 

“Yay” Stiles jumped up and down, clapping his hands before following Derek from the bathroom. When they reached the stairs he grabbed Derek’s hand to make sure he didn’t fall down. Derek was shocked for a moment but after a second closed his hand around Stiles’ to help him down the stairs. When they entered the kitchen, Derek was glad to see that Alison was in the kitchen dishing up the eggs and bacon that Derek had put on to cook before leaving the room. Trying to remain calm, he walked Stiles, who still had a hold of his hand, over to the bench and put some eggs on a plate for him, before picking him up to place him on a bench stool. By doing this, is took roughly another 15 minutes before the pack noticed that anything was wrong. Stiles was so interested in his food that he had stayed quiet and hadn’t really noticed the pack himself either. 

“Uhh Derek? Who is the kid? And where is Stiles?” Scott asked. 

“We kind of have a problem, Scott. It would seem that the witch did hit Stiles with a spell last night.” 

“Well is he okay?” Isaac asked, concerned for his friend. 

“I think he is okay, in a way, but you can just ask him.” Derek gestured at Stiles, and the pack looked at him, clearly confused. Noticing that everyone in the room was looking at him, ever confident and happy to meet new people, Stiles jumped down from his stool and looked at the group with a big smile on his face. It was strange getting a glimpse of how Stiles must have been as a child. 

“Hi, I’m Stiles! Do you want to be my friends?” 

“Stiles!!” Scott said, looking like he was about to pass out. 

Seeing that some explaining needed to happen, Alison was the first to compose herself enough to take control of the situation. She stepped forward and held her hand out to Stiles for him to hold. “Hi Stiles, I’m Alison. Would you like to watch some tv?” 

“Yes please. You’re pretty.” He said. Alison smiled at him and led him into the living room to watch tv before quickly coming back to find out what had happened. 

“Okay Derek. Please explain.” She ordered, instead of asked. 

“The witch hit Stiles with some magic. I think it was meant to kill him but as Cora saved him with CPR it didn’t work and has had a different affect instead. At first it was just his body that had changed, but after speaking to him for a few minutes his mind changed as well. So we are now dealing with Stiles at 5 years old. I don’t know what he was like when he was 5 so I don’t know what to expect from him.” Derek explained. 

“Shit.” Scott and Jackson seemed to say in unison. 

“What?” Erica asked. 

Scott and Jackson looked ta each other before Jackson opened his mouth to explain this one. “Scott and I went to pre-school with Stiles when he was 5. If he acts the same way he did when he was actually 5 then we are going to have some trouble. He was a very problematic child, a lot more so than he is now or when he was in high school.” 

“In fact, someone is probably going to need to stay with him at all times to make sure he doesn’t break anything or hurt himself trying to do something stupid.” Scott added after Jackson had finished his explanation. 

“And on that note I’m going to go and check on the little monster. Make sure nothing has been broken already.” Cora said, although she didn’t sound happy about it. A second later she called out front the living room. “Derek, we might need some new cushions for the couch. And maybe get Stiles some toys or something. He seems to think that cushions are for playing.” An extremely cute, evil giggle followed. 

“Told ya.” Jackson said. 

“Alright, everyone get dressed, we’re going to see Deaton.”


	3. The Search for Answers

Within 15 minutes the entire pack was dressed and ready to go see Deaton, there was a problem that they hadn’t yet thought of though when they all got outside and went to get into there cars. 

“Wait a second Derek.” Alison said, pausing. 

“What’s the matter Alison?” Derek asked. 

“Stiles is currently too little to just sit in a car with a seatbelt. We should really have a car seat or at least a booster seat for him.” Alison explained. 

Derek looked down at the child grasping his hand. Stiles had almost thrown a fit when Derek said he could walk on his own, so he had given in and was letting the child hold his hand. At least it kept him quiet. “I don’t have a seat for him. It’s only a short drive, do you think he will be okay if he sits on someone’s lap?” Derek really didn’t know much about caring for young children, but he was getting a crash course as the day went by. 

“I guess we could, but we really don’t know how long he will be like this. It might be a good idea to get a proper seat for him today.” Lydia suggested. 

Derek had to nod in agreement. Rationally she was right. They had no idea if they would find a way to put Stiles back to normal that day, it could take days or even weeks to get answers. And he knew there was no way he could risk Stiles’ life. “Okay, we will see Deaton first and see what happens. If we need to we can get one after that.” 

The pack agreed and everyone split up to get into cars and take off, Alison getting in with Derek to hold Stiles as Stiles didn’t want anyone else either than Derek or Alison to touch him, and Derek wouldn’t let Stiles out of his sight. 10 minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of the local Veterinary Clinic, Stiles jumping out of the car and running to Derek to grab his hand again. For some reason Stiles would only grab Derek’s hand, and Derek didn’t mind at all. It was something he couldn’t explain to himself. And he didn’t want to look at it to closely, but he knew he would have to eventually. As always, when they entered the clinic Deaton was waiting at the reception desk, looking in no way surprised to see them. Derek entered last with Stiles, he figured it would be best to explain what had happened first before Deaton saw Stiles. 

“Well well well, if it isn’t the Hale pack. What can I do for you today?” Deaton took a look around the group before anyone had a chance to answer him, and an expression of concern crossed his face. “Where is my young emissary apprentice? He is usually first through the door, keen to learn more.” 

“That’s why we’re here. You see, we have a big problem.” Scott started. He then explained the entire situation to Deaton, what happened with the witch and everything that had happened since. As Scott finished his explanation, the pack stepped to either side of Derek, who walked forward with Stiles gripping his hand very tightly. It was pretty obvious that Stiles was at the very least nervous, with everyone staring at him and another new person standing in front of him. 

“This is Stiles?” Deaton asked, looking quite shocked. 

“Yes.” Derek answered, looking down at the child that was staring up at him with some fear in his eyes. A strange feeling hit Derek as he looked at the young boy, a boy who at that moment let go of Derek’s hand and reached his arms up in a way that said he wanted to be picked up. Derek wasn’t sure what to do and looked to Cora for a bit of help. She just nodded her head, and Derek realized that for a child a lot had happened today. Stiles may not understand it all, but he had been presented with an environment that in his state he was unfamiliar with, and essentially 10 strangers all at once. Bending down to lift him better, Derek placed Stiles on his hip and let the boy hide his face in his neck. It was weird, but Derek also couldn’t help but feel something at the level of trust Stiles clearly had in him. “What do we do?” He asked Deaton. 

“This is not something I have ever come across before.” Deaton admitted. “But I do have a lot of books that might contain something to help us, however, I am going to need your help with this.” He said, looking around at the entire pack. 

“What do we need to do?” Scott asked, he was willing to do anything to get his friend back to normal. 

“We are going to need to split up to look through all the books. This may seem strange, but I have them all kept in 5 separate locations. It seems safer as not all the books can get destroyed if something happens to one location, and also allows more time to find answers if someone tries to destroy all our sources.” 

“Okay, makes some sense. So where are they all kept?” Erica asked. 

“I have some here. There are some at the Hale house with Derek, then there is Beacon Hills first national bank in the vault, Derek’s old loft, and my apartment.” 

“Derek’s old loft doesn’t seem like a very safe option.” Jackson said. “What if someone moves in and get’s rid of them?” 

“No one can do that.” Derek stated. 

“How can you be so sure?” Jackson asked. He may have learned to be a nicer person since the whole Kanima incident, but he could still be a real dick when he wanted to be. 

“Because I own the building, so no one will be moving into my loft. It is also protected with security so I know if someone is in there.” 

“Okay, now I need to split everyone up to go look for answers. Lydia and Jackson, take the vault at Beacons Hills First National Bank.” 

“We are on it.” Lydia said. 

“Erica, Boyd and Cora take the loft, Scott, Isaac and Alison can look through the books here.” As he said this Deaton walked into his office and bought out two large boxes full of books. “I will take my apartment, and Derek, you can look through the ones at your house.” 

Derek nodded, as did the rest of the pack, splitting up into their search groups ready to go. “Oh and Derek, I think it is clear to see that Stiles is most attached to you, and I think he will be safest with the alpha of the pack, so I am going to ask that he stays with you.” 

Derek didn’t even try and argue, he wasn’t going to let Stiles go with anyone else anyway. He just didn’t yet realize how difficult things were about to get for him. “If anyone finds anything, call me immediately and then call Deaton. I’ll see you all later.” With that Derek turned and walked out the clinic to his car. As he opened the door he muttered to himself, “I am going to have to go shopping on the way home.” Pulling out of the car park, Derek headed in a different direction to home, instead heading further into town to the shops where he could get a car seat for Stiles, and maybe some toys to. He would need to keep Stiles occupied while he tried to find a way to put him back to normal. Derek drove a lot more carefully than he normally would, being careful to ensure that nothing happened that could potentially harm Stiles. Looking at the passenger seat, he saw that Stiles really was too small to sit with just a seatbelt on, it would do nothing to keep him safe if they had an accident. When they arrived at the store, Derek walked around to let Stiles out of the car, already expecting the quick grab of his hand that occurred. He was getting used to holding Stiles’ hand, and kind of liked it. Walking into the store the first thing Derek walked to was the section with car seats. He looked at the range but had no idea where to start. What sort of seat did he need? A full car seat? Just a booster to make Stiles a little taller? Luckily at that moment a sales women walked over and asked if he needed any help. Derek let out a sigh of relief before he turned to look at the women. 

“Yes I do. I need a car seat for this little guy.” He looked down at Stiles. “And I have no idea what sort I need.” 

“No problem. How old is he?” She asked. 

“5” Derek replied 

“Okay, so you only need a booster seat for him, one that makes him tall enough for the seatbelt to do its job. Is price an issue, cause they do vary from cheap to expensive.” 

“Price is no problem, show me the more expensive ones please.” Derek wasn’t going to take a chance on a cheap one. After being shown some different seats that would all work for him, Derek knelt down next to Stiles and asked him which one he liked best. 

“The blue one!” Stiles said excitedly, pointing at his choice. 

Derek smiled at him before picking the blue one up and turning towards the saleswomen, who name he now noted on her name tag was Jennifer. “The blue one it is.” 

She smiled at Derek. “Did you need any help with anything else or is that all?” 

Derek hesitated a minute, looking down at Stiles. “I think we might need some toys, but I think I’ll let him pick them out.” 

Jennifer nodded. “I’ll leave this behind the counter for you, and the toys for his age are over there.” She pointed out the area where they would find age appropriate toys before walking to the front of the store with the booster seat. 

Derek looked back at Stiles and asked, “Do you want to go look at some toys?” 

“Yes!!” Stiles yelled. Derek couldn’t help the small laugh that left him at the sight, especially as Stiles started to walk forward and tried to drag Derek towards the toys. The toy shopping took a while, but soon Stiles had selected a large range of toys he wanted, including a stuffed toy that he was currently refusing to let go of, a jet-black wolf. Together they walked to the counter, Derek pushing a trolley that he had had no choice but to get, with Stiles gripping one of his hands, his other arm gripping the wolf. When they reached the counter, Jennifer was waiting to serve them. 

“Someone is a lucky boy.” She said to Stiles, looking at all the toys as she scanned them. She had to scan the wolf still in Stiles’ hand, as he refused to let go of it. Derek payed for his purchases and was about to leave when he remembered something he needed to ask about. 

“Uhh Jennifer, does this store have a service that shows you how to install a car seat? I’m sorry if that sounds stupid, I’ve never used one before.” 

“That’s alright, we do actually. I can show you how to install it.” 

They all walked out to the car together, and Jennifer did look impressed when she saw the Camaro. It was a little bit of a struggle to get the seat into the car, as Derek had to put down the front seat to get to the back seat, which was quite small, but eventually they got it to fit, and Derek put Stiles in the seat, with him still gripping his new wolf.   
Derek turned to thank Jennifer for her help but before he got a chance to she spoke. “I’m sorry if this is forward, but did you maybe want to go out sometime? Maybe for some coffee?” 

“You seem really nice, but I’m sorry, I’m umm, sort of not into women.” Derek tried to explain, although it came out really badly.

“Ohh, that’s okay. Have a nice day.” She said, walking away looking quite disappointed. 

Derek got in the car and drove away without a second thought, trying to watch Stiles as much as he could whilst also concentrating on the road. By the time Derek made it home it was lunch time, so after getting all the new toys for Stiles inside, as well as Stiles himself, Derek went straight to the kitchen to figure out what he was going to make Stiles for lunch. 

He didn’t have much food that he thought he would be able to convince a 5-year-old to want to eat, so he settled on making him a sandwich, hoping that he would eat it. Walking back into the living room Derek thought for a moment that he might actually have just had a heart attack as he looked around the room and could not see Stiles anywhere in it, but instead saw the front door open. Trying to stay calm for long enough to think, Derek zoned his werewolf hearing to listen for a little heartbeat, ascertaining Stiles’ location and quickly following the sound. As he followed the sound of the heart he could hear Derek found it distressing to think that Stiles had wandered so far in such a short time. He actually had to walk a few minutes away from the house before he found Stiles. “Stiles!” He called out, surprising himself even with the level of desperation in his voice. Only a second later he found Stiles, sitting next to a small pond of water playing with his new wolf toy. He had a large smile on his face that calmed Derek enough to stop him from yelling. He didn’t want to scare Stiles. Instead he walked over to him and kneeled down next to the pond. 

“Stiles? What are you doing out here?” He asked. 

“My wolf needed some water.” He stated so matter of factly that even Derek couldn’t be mad anymore and a smile spread across his own face to match that of Stiles’ smile. 

“You could have come to the kitchen. There is plenty of water in there.” Derek said. 

“He also wanted to go for a walk.” Stiles stated. 

“Okay, well he has had a drink and a walk, is he hungry?” Derek asked. 

Stiles looked up at Derek and nodded. “Yeah, he is.” Derek nodded as well as he stood up. 

“Let’s go get some food then.”

Stiles smiled and quickly stood up. Derek took a few steps before looking to see if Stiles was next to him. Instead Stiles was standing next to the pond still just staring at him. “Are you coming?” Stiles didn’t say anything just looked at Derek and reached his arms into the air. Once again Derek couldn’t help but smile, there was just something about 5-year-old Stiles that made Derek want to agree to absolutely anything he asked for. Walking the few steps back to Stiles, Derek bent down a bit and placed his hands under Stiles arms, lifting him up and sitting him on his hip. He then moved one arm under the tops of his thighs to keep him up and placed one arm near his shoulder blades to make sure he didn’t fall. Stiles tucked his head into Derek’s neck, one little arm around his neck, the other clutching the wolf between their chests like his life depended on it. By the time they made it back to the house Stiles had fallen asleep in Derek’s arms. It had been a fairly tiring day for a young kid. Shutting and locking the front door behind him this time Derek looked around for a minute. He decided he wanted to keep a close eye on Stiles, so he continued to carry him around the house as he put the sandwich he had made in the fridge, Stiles could eat it later when he woke up, and then went upstairs to gather the books that he had to look through for something that might help Stiles. When he got back downstairs with one arm cradling a sleeping child to his chest and the other gripping a stack of books, he somehow managed to sit on the couch without disturbing Stiles or dropping a single book. Derek placed the books on the coffee table then looked at Stiles, quickly coming up with a plan. He got back up carefully and walked upstairs again to grab a pillow and a blanket from the room that Scott and Stiles share when they stay, before going back to the front room and placing the pillow on the couch. As carefully as he possibly could, Derek placed Stiles on the couch, laying him down in a way that looked comfortable and placing the blanket over him. With his spare arm now free from being wrapped around Derek's neck, Stiles bought it around to cuddle the wolf with both arms. Before sitting down in a chair opposite the couch Derek quickly removed Stiles’ shoes, then went to start looking through the books in the hope of finding something that may help them.   
About an hour later Derek was intently reading a page that looked promising in the second book in his stack. He was so focused on the words that he wasn’t listening to anything that might be happening around him. He was jolted from his concentration though when he heard a small scream from the kitchen, and instinctively looked at the couch where he had left Stiles to see that he was no longer there. Derek practically threw the book aside and ran to the kitchen to see Stiles sitting on the floor crying and a glass broken on the ground next to him. “Stiles? Are you okay?” Derek asked. He sat next to Stiles and felt as though he was in his own physical pain as he watched tears run down his cheeks, quickly checking to make sure that he hadn't cut himself on any of the broken glass. “What happened” He asked. 

“I woke up and was thirsty. I found a glass, but I dropped it. I’m sorry” Stiles said, looking as though he was worried about getting into trouble. 

“That’s okay. You could have just asked me.” Derek said. 

“You looked busy.” He said sadly. 

“Okay, well how about I get you something to drink and clean this up. How does that sound?” Derek noticed that he was finding that parenting was coming to him a lot more naturally than he had been expecting. He barely even had to think about what he was doing, he just did it. As Stiles had no shoes on and there was glass on the floor Derek picked him up to place him in a bar stool at the bench, mostly just to make sure that he didn’t stand on any glass. Then he grabbed a fresh glass out of a cupboard and filled it with some juice before handing it to Stiles. “Be careful with that one alright?” Stiles just nodded and sipped from the glass, both of his small hands gripping it tightly. Derek smiled again. Which got him thinking again. He couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled this much. He was distracted for a moment thinking about it before looking at Stiles to find him staring at Derek very intently. “Did you want something else?” Derek asked. 

Stiles just continued to stare for a moment, and Derek was starting to worry when he finally answered. “I’m hungry.”

Derek looked at his watch and realized that with the time Stiles had been asleep it had been quite a long time since he had eaten breakfast. So he walked to the fridge and got out the sandwich he had made earlier, putting it on a plate. He looked at it for a second before walking to the cupboard to have a look. He found a small packet of chips and put some of them on the with the sandwich before giving it to Stiles. “I hope you like it.” He said, not sure what else he could possibly give him. Stiles nodded and Derek let him eat whilst grabbing his phone to make a few calls. So far no one had found anything that could help, and they were all over halfway done with their stacks of books. Lastly he called Deaton, he had the same update as the rest of the pack except for one minor change in details. There was a possibility that the spell that had hit Stiles would wear off on its own after a period of time, but he couldn’t determine how long before it would reverse. After he hung up from Deaton Derek thought for a moment. At the very least the pack was going to end up staying again that some night, and Stiles was still going to be a kid. He needed to go shopping again, although this time it was for food. After a day of intense researching it was likely the pack wouldn’t have eaten anything and they would all be starving when they got home. A pack BBQ seemed like a good idea, it was a simple meal that would hopefully get everyone to relax a little after a stressful week. 

“Derek?” Stiles said, looking at Derek from across the kitchen. “I need to go toilet.”

Derek helped him down from the stool and walked Stiles to the downstairs bathroom, waiting outside as Stiles did what he had to. He was really scared to leave him alone after only 5 minutes away from him had already had Stiles give him a heart attack when he disappeared. As Stiles exited the bathroom he grabbed Derek’s hand as Derek started to walk towards the front room. It was almost as though it was a reflex reaction at this point. 

“Stiles, we need to go back out so can you please put your shoes on?” 

“Okay.” Stiles said cheerfully as he sat on the couch and put his shoes on. “Can I bring wolfy?” He asked. 

“Wolfy?” Derek asked, confused as to what he meant. Stiles didn’t respond, just held up the wolf stuffed toy to show Derek. Derek laughed. “Of course you can bring wolfy. Let’s go.” 

This time it was Derek that grabbed Stiles’ hand as he walked out the house, locked up and walked to the car. Derek helped get Stiles into the booster seat and buckled him in before getting into the car himself and started to drive into town. “Where are we going?” Stiles asked. 

“To the grocery store. I need to buy some food.” Derek answered. This seemed to get Stiles excited. 

“Can we get Cap’n Crunch or Apple Jacks?” He asked, almost bouncing in his seat. Once again Derek laughed. 

“Do you like them?” 

“They’re my favorite. I always eat them for breakfast. Can we get them?” 

“Maybe. I’ll think about it.” Derek said. This caused Stiles to pout and it was actually both adorable and funny to see such an expression on his face. 

They arrived at the grocery store and Derek helped Stiles out of the car. As soon as his feet were on the ground Stiles lifted his arms up in the air, so Derek bent down to pick him up, once again resting him on his hip. He could tell just how much Stiles clearly trusted him and was obviously extremely comfortable being around him. They walked into the store and Derek grabbed a trolley. He was going to need quite a lot of groceries to feed the pack. At first he tried to get Stiles to sit in the trolley, but he started to scream when Derek tried to put him down so he just tried his best to make sure he had a good grip on Stiles with one arm and steered the trolley with the other. First Derek made his way to fresh produce, and gathered a heap of salad supplies and fruit, he knew the pack loved to eat fruit after a BBQ, mostly melons and berries. By the time they made it to the first aisle past the produce section Stiles was starting to wriggle about in Derek’s arm. “What’s wrong?” Derek asked him, as the child continued to squirm. “Down.” Was all he said, continuing to move until Derek started to lose his grip and had no choice but to put the kid down. As soon as he did he realized it had been a mistake. Stiles took off, running away. Derek wanted to call out to him, but it would be a bad idea. It’s not as if ‘Stiles’ was a common name, someone would most likely start asking questions that would be hard to answer. Instead he relied on his wolf senses of sound and smell to find the child. It wasn’t hard. Stiles was standing in the cereal aisle, pulling boxes of the shelves. “Stiles! Don’t do that.” Derek said. 

Stiles continued to pull down boxes, looking extremely happy as he did so. When Derek was next to him he quickly picked Stiles up so he couldn’t grab anymore boxes, and placed him in the seat in the trolley, strapping him in. He wasn’t happy and started to throw a tantrum instantly. “I want cereal” He yelled, pounding his little fists on the trolley, wherever he could reach. Instinct kidded in then and without having any proper knowledge as how to handle this, he somehow still knew what to do. 

“Keep screaming and you won’t get any.” Derek said, trying to sound as parental as he possibly could. 

“Apple Jacks and Cap’n Crunch! Apple Jacks and Cap’n Crunch!” Stiles continued to yell. Derek was starting to see what Scott and Jackson had been talking about that morning when mentioning what a menace Stiles had been as a child. 

“Stiles” He warned. “I will walk away and you won’t get any cereal if you keep screaming.” As Derek spoke he picked up the boxes on the ground and put them back on the shelf. As he was doing so a young girl, maybe 16, who worked at the store walked up to them smiling. 

“Someone’s not happy.” She said. Stiles just pouted at her and crossed his little arms across his chest in an attempt to look menacing. She actually laughed at this before looking at Derek. “I guess you have your hands full with this one.” 

Derek smiled. “Yeah, that’s for sure.” 

“You don’t have to pick them up, I can do it.” She offered, looking at the boxes. 

“Ohh that’s okay. I’m sure you have enough to do.” Derek said as a call was put out over the speakers calling for help at the registers. 

“That I do.” She said before moving quickly towards the front of the store. 

Derek looked back at Stiles to see him looking a little sad now. “Cereal?” He asked in a tiny voice, making Derek feel bad about telling him off. 

“What do you want? No more than two.” 

“Apple Jacks and Cap’n Crunch please.” Stiles said. 

“Alright.” Derek said. “But I need you to promise that you are going to be good. No more screaming.” 

“Okay.” 

Derek grabbed a big box of both the Cap’n Crunch and the Apple Jacks. Even if Stiles were back to normal before he ate it all it would get eaten eventually. Seeing a small word search on the back of one of the boxes, Derek dug a hand into his pocket and found a pen. “Do you want to do this word search while I shop?” He asked Stiles, showing him the box. Stiles nodded and put wolfy next to him so he could hold the box and the pen. The rest of the shop was quiet as Stiles did his game and Derek grabbed things for dinner. Some BBQ snacks like chips and nuts, some soft drink, and a lot of meat. As they walked to the registers and were waiting in line Stiles finished the word search and Derek sent a quick text to Deaton inviting him around for dinner. They were going to need to talk about anything that seemed even remotely possible of being helpful and Deaton would be useful for that conversation. Before he even put his phone away he got a reply accepting his invite. As Derek was paying Stiles started to cry, trying to focus on both what he was doing and what Stiles wanted at the same time was difficult, and he was trying to be quick because there were people waiting behind him. He smiled apologetically at the elderly women serving him before turning to find out what was going on with Stiles. The lady smiled back understandingly. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked softly. 

“W-w-wolfy!” Stiles cried. 

Derek was confused for a moment before realizing that the wolf stuffed toy wasn’t with Stiles. He looked around and found it under the trolley. Stiles had obviously dropped it. Derek picked it up and handed it to Stiles, who grabbed it and clutched it to himself but didn’t stop crying. Instead he raised his arms, so Derek picked him up and cradled him to his chest, fumbling with his wallet again to pay for the groceries. “Sorry about that.” He said to the lady behind the register. 

“That’s okay sweetie. How old is he.” She gestured at Stiles who had hidden his face in Derek’s neck, gripping him tightly with the hand that didn’t hold the wolf. 

“He’s 5.” Derek responded. 

“Just wait till he hits the teenage years. You’ll wish he were 5 again.” She laughed. Derek also laughed at that. He already knew what Stiles was like as a teenager and in a way 5-year-old him was easier to deal with. Derek thanked her and left the store, putting the groceries in the car and Stiles in his booster seat he quickly planned the rest of the afternoon in his head, starting with distracting Stiles with toys so he could read some more of the books to try and find an answer.


End file.
